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            Side Structure Integrity Research for Passenger Rail Equipment
      

      
  Document Series
              Technical Reports


      
  Author
          Federal Railroad Administration


      
Report Number
              DOT/FRA/ORD-22/42

  Office
              RDI-22


      Subject
                    Crashworthiness - Passenger Equipment


      
  Keywords
              Passenger rail, structural crashworthiness, side structure, sidewall, side impact, railcar design, passenger equipment


      

      
      
              
                  
      
              
  Document
              Side Structure Report-A.pdf (2.95 MB)

      
              FRA sponsored research to evaluate the side impact strength of Tier I passenger rail equipment designs built to the current rollover and side structure regulations. This report presents results from the first stage of this research program, including: (1) the makeup of the U.S. passenger car fleet; (2) the accident history involving side structures in the U.S.; (3) a review of passenger rail-side structure design and performance criteria in current standards and regulations; (4) an evaluation of proof loads for similar vehicle structures used in other modes of transportation; and (5) a discussion of the technical challenges in proposing side impact criteria.
      
            
      
      
              Last updated: Monday, December 5, 2022 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

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